The moment never looked too big for Thompson at any stage of training camp, and certainly not in the preseason.
In fact, Thompson was so good during his preseason appearances that he gave the Dolphins no choice but to keep him on the 53-player roster because the obvious potential he showed in the summer would have made highly unlikely he would have cleared waivers.
But the preseason and the regular season are different animals, and young quarterbacks can get overwhelmed with different looks and disguises opposing defenses throw at them early in their career, which is not something they have to face in the preseason.
That’s why it’s the smart move for the Dolphins to go with Bridgewater against the Jets, Besides, the Dolphins gave Bridgewater a fully guaranteed $6.5 million contract for 2022 for a reason, and that’s to keep the offense humming as smoothly as possible while Tua is out.
That, however, does not sit well with a portion of fans who were wowed by Thompson’s preseason work and also may be less than thrilled about Bridgewater’s skill set and/or credentials.
Thompson, for his part, isn’t about to let himself get caught up in whatever fervor there is for him to start in Tua’s absence.
“Everybody has their opinion on whatever,” Thompson said. “All of that is white noise to me. I’m just focused on what Ive focused on since the day I got here – getting better every day and putting myself in position to help the team win, whether that’s me on the field or at practice, helping a guy out with a play. My focus has been the same since I got here. just because a couple things changed doesn’t mean I’m going to change.”
The way Thompson looks at it, nothing has changed over the past 10 days in terms of what he needs to do; he’s just closer to getting into game action.
And when that time comes, whenever that might be, he’ll be ready.
“I feel very prepared. it goes back to the way I’ve approached it since the season started, preparing like I’m the starter each week,” he said. “Sticking to my weekly routine and what I’ve been doing and trusting my preparation.
“It’s an exciting time, but my role here is to help support Teddy. He’s the starter. I’ve looked up to Teddy since the moment I got in this locker room. Whatever I can do to help the team is what I’m going to do and I’m excited for that.”
